The present invention relates to a method of controlling the indexing of magazine pockets in a machining center.
Hitherto, in working out a machining program to be used in a machining center, it is customary for the programmer to form the program without having any on-line communication with the controller of the machining center. Namely, the programmer does not know, when he forms the new program, the present state of indexing of tools in the magazine established with respect to the previous machining program. Thus, the present state of indexing of tools, presented by the previous machining program, is not taken into consideration when the programmer forms the new program.
Certain programs or inconveniences are caused from this fact. Namely, the operator who is going to execute the new program is obliged to demount all tools from the magazine and then to rearrange the tools in the magazine pockets in accordance with the new program, even if some of the tools already in the magazine are usuable in the execution of the new program. As a consequence of this procedure, handling time is prolonged due to the useless work of demounting and mounting the tools which are usable in the execution of the new program. One approach to obviating this problem, has been for the programmer to modify the new machining program while visually checking the tools arranged on the magazine. Such an approach, however, requires considerable time and labor for programming, thereby unduly burdening the programmer.